The city’s Central Park Easter event attracted record crowds yesterday – though many were disappointed that the traditional egg hunt was eggs-terminated.

Although it was dubbed the Eggstravaganza, the annual event did not include an egg hunt this year – leaving the many children in the crowd of 50,000 with nothing more to do than paint eggs.

“It’s a bit disappointing,” said Amy Flaskin of Queens, whose 4-year-old son, Martin, was so excited about the hunt he brought his own basket.

“It would have been his first one,” she said. “He’s been talking about it a lot. I feel bad. I’m going to have to go home and hide some eggs in the yard or I’ll never hear the end of it.”

The hunt – called the “city’s largest Easter egg hunt” in previous years – has been held “in some form or another” in Central Park for the past 15 to 20 years, a Parks Department spokeswoman said.

Some confused parents just assumed the hunt would be held again this year; others thought they saw advertisements for it.

“That’s the main attraction,” said Joshua Stein, whose daughter, Jessica, 7, joined in the hunt last year. “She loved it. It’s weird, because I could have sworn I saw an ad for it. I was talking to other parents, and everyone’s really surprised.”

Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe attended the event and said the hunt was never planned this year. Any advertisements touting the hunt were mistakes, he said.

“We decided it takes too long to process everyone for the hunt,” he said.

He pointed to last year’s hourlong wait and said the hunt became a “free-for-all.”

“We scattered plastic eggs with candy in them, and kids were smashing the eggs and grabbing the candy,” he laughed.